Game practice device



N- MOSELEY GAME PRACTICE DEVICE Dec. 11, 1951 Filed Dec. 14, 1949(Ittomegs Patented Dec. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES v PATENT OFFICE GAMEPRACTICE DEVICE Nicholas Moseley, Sandy Hook, Conn. Application December14, 1949, Serial No. 132,834

6 Claims. (Cl. 273--29) v This invention relates to a game practicedevice and more particularly to a device which may be used in practicingand perfecting strokes in the game of tennis. It is particularly adaptedin teaching to a beginner the correct technic in stroking a tennis ball.

In learning the game of tennis, the beginner should be taught certainfundamentals such as hitting the ball in the center of the racket,striking the ball with the head of the racket at the proper angle to theforearm and also to the ground, to so strike the ball as to impart to ita movement in the proper direction, and to employ the proper swing, bodybalance and follow through. The present device will enable the user topractice all of these fundamentals by himself or with an instructor andat the same time the ball will be kept under control so that it will bereturned to, or substantially to, its initial position so that it mayreceive a subsequent stroke. v

k In general, the device comprises a base upon which is supported a rodor shaft in a substantially vertical position. The tennis ball isrotatably mounted upon this shaft so that the height of the ball abovethe base may be adjusted as desired. As the ball is mounted to rotateabout its axis, it is permitted to spin under the impact of the racketso that various strokes, such for example as a chop stroke or a toppedstroke, may be demonstrated.

, The rod or shaft is mounted upon the base for universal movement. Morespecifically, it is pivoted to a lower support member which in turn isrotatably mounted in a block secured to the base, so that the shaft maynot only swing in a forward direction in one plane about its pivot, butmay also tilt or swing at various angles to this plane due to the factthat the lower support member may rotate upon its axis, which varies theplane in which the shaft may swing about its pivot.

Astop or abutment member is provided and a tension spring secured to theshaft and to a post projecting upwardly from the base urges the shaftagainst this abutment. The abutment is provided with a series ofprojections having notches between them into which notches the shaftwill be drawn by the spring after the shaft has been moved by a strokeupon the ball. The particular notch into which the shaft is returned bythe spring will indicate to the user the direction of the impact uponthe ball.

One object of the invention is to provide a practice device for the gameof tennis which will be simple in construction and at the same time use-111 and instructive in operation.

Still'another object of the invention is to pro--. vide a practicedevice for the game of tennis, which device comprises a rod or shaftnormally held in upright position and pivoted at its lower end, theshaft having the tennis ball rotatably mounted thereon in position to beconveniently struck by a racket.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a game practicedevice of the character described above in which the ball will beadjustably mounted upon the shaft so that its height maybe adjusted tosuit the user.

A still further object of the invention isto, provide a tennis practicedevice of the character described in which an abutment is provided toengage an intermediate portion of the shaft and a spring secured to theshaft to tend to return it to a substantially upright position againstthe abutment.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features andcombinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed. 1

In the accompanying drawings: Y

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a game practice device embodyingmy invention;

,Fig'. 2 is a side elevational view thereof; Fig. 3 is a top plan viewof the device;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing the manner of mountingthe ball upon the shaft.

' To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown aflat base It] substan-' tially of the size and shape of the home plateof a baseball diamond, but the shape and size of the base may be variedas desired. Secured at the rear end of the base is an upright standardII to which is secured a forwardly projecting member l2, and to theforward end of this member is secured a transversely extending abutmentl3. The front face of this abutment is provided with a plurality ofprojections l4, l5, l6 and I1, these projections providing betweenadjacent ones thereof the notches l8, l9 and 20, the func-f tion'ofwhich will be described hereinafter.

Projecting outwardly from the base and normally standing in asubstantially vertical position is a rod or shaft 22, the lower end ofwhich is mounted upon the base for universal movement. To so mount theshaft 22, a block'23 may be secured to the base by fastening members 24,this block being provided with a central openin 25 having an enlarged orcounter-sunk portion 26 at its lower end. r

Within the opening of the block is rotatably mounted a lower supportingmember or post 21, the latter being provided with an enlarged base 28seated in the enlarged portion 23 of the opening 25. The member 21projects from the block at its upper end and is bifurcated to providespaced legs 29. Between these legs is pivoted at 30 the lower flattenedportion 3| of a member 32 secured to the lower end of the shaft 22.

As a result of the above construction, it will be seen that the shaft 22may rotate about the vertical axis of the post 21 as this post ispermitted to rotate in the block 23. Also, the shaft may swing in avertical plane about the horizontal axis of the pivot pin 30 so thatthis shaft'may move directly away from the abutment [3 in a planesubstantially at right angles to this abutment, or may move away fromthe abutment in a plane at an acute angle thereto. If it is desired tolimit the movement of the shaft to a pivotal movement about thehorizontal pivot 30, thepost 21 maybe secured against rotation'by athumb screw 33 threaded into the block 23 and bearing against the postat its inner end.

A ball-support member 35 is slidably mounted on the shaft 22, the latterpassing through an opening in the member 35, and this member isreleasably held in adjusted vertical positions upon the shaft 22 by abowed spring member 36 secured to the member 35 at its lower end, and atits upper end provided with an opening 31 to receive the shaft 22. Thus,the member 35 may be readily adjusted upon the shaft 22 in any desiredposition above the abutment l3, as shown for example in dotted lines inFig. 2. When such adjustment is desired to be made, pressure upon theupper end of the bowed spring 36 will relieve the frictional engagementof this member with the shaft 22 and permit the support member 35 to bemoved to any desired position. Upon release of pressure of the spring36, the latter will again engage the shaft with sufficient friction tosecure the support in position both vertically and rotationally.

The member 35 is'provided with a pair of projecting arms 39 in which isrotatably mounted an axle 40 which may carry a regulation tennis ball4|. As shown, the axle 40 is provided with shoulders 42 so as tomaintain the ball in a central position between the arms 39. With thisarrangement, the ball can freely spin within the arms 39 so that naturalconditions of a ball in free flight are simulated.

' A tension spring 44 is connected at one end to the post H and at theother end to a bowed spring member '45, the end portions of which areprovided with openings through which the rigid rod 22snugly passes sothat this spring member grips the rod frictionally but maybe releasedtherefrom when the ends of the member 45 are pressed together in orderto adjust this member vertically on the rod. It will be apparent thatthe greater the distance of the member 45 from the base, the longer willbe the leverage through which the spring 44 acts upon the rod 22, and,therefore, the greater the force applied to the rod to return it to anupright position against the abutment [3. This adjustment of theeffective force of the spring 44 will control the speed of the reboundand the effective force exerted by the spring to oppose the outwardmovement of the rod when the ball is struck. In general, when the ballis adjusted to a lower position upon the rod, it will be desirable toadjust the member 4.5-t o a lower position to decrease the effectiveforce of the spring.

In use, the user will stand at one side of the base and strike the ball4| from the left, as shown in Fig. 2, which will cause the rod 22 to bemoved outwardly about its pivot 30, as shown in the dotted-line positionin Fig. 2- If the stroke is true and straight, the rod 22 will be moveddirectly outwardly from the central notch IS in which it normally standsand will be returned by the spring to the same position. When, however,the stroke is an oblique one, the post 21 will be caused to rotate inone direction or the other and, as a result, the rod 22 will be swungoutwardly about its pivot in a plane at an oblique angle to the abutment[3. The spring will then return the rod into one of the notches 18 or20, or if the angle is very sharp to a position on the abutment withoutthe projections 14 and I1, so that the user may be able to tell thedirection of his stroke and to correct it.

If desired, the notches l8, l3, and 2a, and also the positions withoutthe projections l4 and l'i, may be numbered and thus a game may beplayed, the user scoring the number opposite the position on theabutment i3 to which the spring returns the rod 22. For example, if theuser hits the ball with a true stroke it will be returned to the centralnotch 19, which may be marked +15, and the player may score 15 points.If, however, the rod is returned into one of the notches IE or 23, whichmay be marked 0, no score will be earned, while if the rod is returnedto a position outside of the projections I4 and H, which may be marked15, 15 points will be subtracted from the players score.

If it is desired to prevent turning of the rod 22' for elementarypractice, the set screw 33 may be tightened so that the rod may bepermitted movement only about the hinge pin 33 and will always bereturned to the central notch [9 in which it normally stands.

While I have described-my device with particular relation to the game oftennis, it will be understood that it may be employed in connecti n withother games in which a ball is struck by a racket or bat or by the hand.For example, it may be employed in batting practice in the game ofbaseball.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention,it will be under-- stood that it is not to be limited to all of thedetails shown, but is capable of modification and variation within thespirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a practice device for tennis or like game, a base, a postrotatably mounted on the base to rotate about a vertical axis, a rodpivotally se-' cured to said post about a horizontal axis, an abutmentmember, a spring urging said rod to a substantially upright positionagainst an edge of said'abutment member, and a ball mounted for verticaladjustment on said rod.

2. In a'practice device for tennis or like game, a base, a postrotatably mounted on the base to rotate about a vertical axis, a rodpivotally secured to said post about a horizontal axis, an abutmentmember, a spring urging said rod to a substantially upright positionagainst an edge of said abutment member, and a ball mounted for verticaladjustment on said rod, said spring having one end connected to the baseand the other end connected to said rod for vertical adjustment thereonabove the pivot of the rod.

3. In a practice device for tennisor like game, a base, a post rotatablymounted on the base to rotate about a vertical axis, a rod pivotallysecured to said post about a horizontal axis, an abutment member, aspring urging said rod to a substantially upright position against anedge of said abutment member, said spring being connected to said rodabove said pivot for vertical adjustment, a support member mounted onthe upper portion of said rod for vertical adjustment thereon andprojecting laterally from said rod, and a ball mounted on said supportmember.

4. In a practice device for tennis or like game, a base, a postrotatably mounted on the base to rotate about a vertical axis, a rodpivotally secured to said post about a horizontal axis, an abutmentmember, a spring urging said rod to a substantially upright positionagainst an edge of said abutment member, said spring being connected tosaid rod above said pivot for vertical adjustment, a support membermounted on the upper portion of said rod for vertical adjustment thereonand projecting laterally from said rod, and a ball mounted on theprojecting portion of said support member for rotation about its axis.

5. In a practice device for tennis or like game, a base, a rod havingits lower end connected to the base for universal swinging movement, anabutment member mounted above the base. means urging said rod to asubstantially upright position against this member, and a ball mountedon said rod for rotation about a horizontal axis, said urging meanscomprising a spring, one end of which is secured to a part of the baseand the other end secured to said rod for vertical adjustment thereon tovary the leverage of the force of the spring upon said rod with respectto its point of attachment to the base- 6. In a practice device fortennis or like game, a base, a rod having its lower end attached to thebase for universal movement with respect thereto and extending upwardlyfrom the base, an abutment member mounted above the base, means urgingsaid rod to a substantially upright position against said member, and aball mounted on said rod above said abutment member for adjustmentlongitudinally of the rod, and said urging means comprising a springsecured at one end to a part of the base and having its other endsecured to the rod for vertical adjustment thereon to free the efieotiveforce of the spring.

NICHOLAS MOSELEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA'IENTS Number Name Date 861,506 Doyle July 30, 19071,419,636 MacDonald June 13, 1922 1,962,087 Cone June 5, 1934 2,080,958Beasley et al May 18, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,178Great Britain 1898 370,590 Great Britain Apr. 14, 1932

